PH off to good start in Street Child World Cup

ABS-CBN News

The Team Philippines - girls compete against South Africa in the Street Child World Cup in Rio de Janeiro. Handout photo.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ girls team got off to a flying start in the 2014 Street Child World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil last weekend, comprehensively beating South Africa, 9-0.

The captain of the girls team, Agot of Davao, scored four goals and was awarded Player of the Match honors. Ronalyn, from Payatas, netted a hat-trick while Angelica, also from Payatas, and Maylene, from Davao, completed the rout.

“The team performed very well,” team leader and head coach Roy Moore said. “You could see they were nervy at the start of the game, they hit the woodwork several times, but they dominated possession and played excellently.”

“We’ve all worked very hard in training and you could really see the results on the field,” Moore added.

The Team Philippines girls have one more group game, against El Salvador on April 2.

Meanwhile, the Team Philippines boys get their tournament underway on April 1 with a game against Nicaragua. They will also play Burundi, Tanzania and Argentina in the group stage.

The boys and girls teams representing the Philippines in the Street Child World Cup are backed by NGOs, led by the Fairplay for All Foundation, which works in Payatas, Quezon City.

Organized in association with Save the Children, the Street Child World Cup is a football tournament, unique global street child conference, and arts festival.